Our old friend Dick Laurie put your editors in touch with one of our neighbours the other day, a jazz bassoonist of all things! Never having imagined one could make jazz come out of a bassoon, we were intrigued - and treated to a wonderful evening at PIZZA ON THE PARK (POTP) listening to BASSOON AND BEYOND, a jazz quartet led by Daniel Smith. Here's a little of what he told me afterwards...

"Glad you were able to come to the POTP last week. I have gone through Killer Diller and will now tell you things that will surprise you. I took up music at the age of 16 because of BENNY GOODMAN! I knew absolutely nothing about music, having come from a family with no cultural surroundings. I was watching TV one New Year's eve, and saw the Benny Goodman trio being reunited for a special New Year's show. I was mesmerised by what I saw and heard. I went out later that week to sign up for music lessons on the TRUMPET at a local studio.

Why the trumpet? Because when they asked me 'why' at the music studio, I told them that I saw a Mr. Goodman play the trumpet on TV and described a long black instrument. This was my first introduction to music via Benny Goodman's amazing trumpet playing! Over the years, I majored in clarinet, studied saxophone (with the same teacher who had taught Stan Getz), got one degree on flute and others afterwards. I took up the bassoon at age 24 while playing solo piccolo and flute with the West Point Band. Much later on I played with the NY Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, etc. Lots of interesting stuff in between, all of which led up to what you saw at the POTP.

While still very much underage, I got into BIRDLAND (the legendary NY jazz club) countless times using a phoney draft card. I saw many of the greats there; Count Basie, Lester Young, Dina Washington, Stan Getz, Miles Davis, Clifford Brown, Duke Ellington, Woody Herman, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, and many others too numerous to mention here.

Later on I played sax, clarinet and flute with many jazz, swing and Latin bands, including Tito Puente, Tito Rodriguez, Larry Elgart, Billy May, Guy Lombardo, Xavier Cugat, Johnny Richards, etc. etc. I also did many Broadway and off-Broadway shows.

I saw the humorous article in Killer Diller about Tommy Dorsey under investigation for 'swinging' as taken from another publication, The Onion. By coincidence, I just happen to have with me here in London the 'Onion Book of the 20th Century' and already knew of this article. Small world!

So, now you know that I am not just a bassoon player coming from a conservatory background who along the way branched out into jazz.

Thanks again for coming to hear me at POTP.Daniel Smith

P.S.- One of the more interesting things about my background are the years I played in Latin bands in the NY area. I witnessed violent riots, knife fights, beatings, things you can't imagine (What else is there? Ed.) Quite a different world from Mozart and Beethoven in the concert hall.